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[dojokun]

To me, here's the order on worth:

Sexy female human (for sex) > Average female human (for sex) > Delicious animal (for eating) > Average tasting animal (for eating) > Gross tasting animal (for eating... I figure I can hide the taste with spices or something) > Female human I'm not attracted to (for sex) > Dudes.

 

[Gaborn]

Some people feel like animals are more innocent than people.

Personally it's amazing to me that anyone could consider an animal "innocent." Not having the ability for "advanced reasoning" and "consciousness" in the way humans do (well, for the most part and depending on how you define those terms) doesn't equal innocence. Animals can and do kill, rape, steal, etc. Any human vice that we have animals can possess, and any virtue humans have they can possess. Animals are as good as people... or as bad.

dojokun - :lol :lol

 

[bigmit3737]

Some animals are worth more than people. All value is relative. Some individuals have more value to me than others, and similarly some animals. We could kill 80% of the world population without losing too much value in all honesty. The world would probably be a better place for it too, but short of a pandemic or natural disaster of epic proportions it isn't going to happen.

Natural disasters will start the race over.

I said it here first.

 

[thetechkid]

Cereal Answer: CUS DAWGS CAUSED 9/11!
Serial Answer: Vegetarians are crazy.

 

[bigmit3737]

Personally it's amazing to me that anyone could consider an animal "innocent." Not having the ability for "advanced reasoning" and "consciousness" in the way humans do (well, for the most part and depending on how you define those terms) doesn't equal innocence. Animals can and do kill, rape, steal, etc. Any human vice that we have animals can possess, and any virtue humans have they can possess. Animals are as good as people... or as bad.

dojokun - :lol :lol

It really depends on what comes to people's mind when you think animals.

I don't think Hyenas...I think cute little puppies and dogs....or dolphins...or birds...or Christian the Lion.

 

[RustyNails]

Humans > Animals.

Also, they should ban pitbulls and make it an open season on them. I'll be the first to kill all of them in my neighborhood.

 

[JDSN]

They are people that fail as human beings so their only option is to see animals and interprent their lack of conciousness the way they want it. Hence all the "My cat is so confident and isnt a needy bitch like some dogs" comments we see here from time to time.

 

[Mindlog]

I believe animals and humans are just as valuable.

Besides, I don't remember animals enslaving my ancestors. Or denying them rights. Or denying other people rights. So sometimes I'm just a bit sweeter on animals because they do show you nothing but love and compassion unless you THE HUMAN decide to fuck with their minds and make the violent.

They're like babies/toddlers for their entire lives in mindset.

There is something beautifully (hilariously?) circular about this.

separately

I value human life yet I'm fine with people spending money on pets. I know that money would be better spent on some charity, but I can't reconcile that with how great dogs are.

I'm still boggled by people spending money on cats.

It really depends on what comes to people's mind when you think animals.

I don't think Hyenas...I think cute little puppies and dogs....or dolphins...or birds...or Christian the Lion.

Traditionally, when a human is called an animal... What comes to mind?

 

[Mr.Green]

and I would shoot your dog in the face and use his fur as a foot mat, real talk

Way to answer your own question.

 

[Shanadeus]

I would rather that a group of individuals from a endangered species survived over whatever native human population in the same area threatening them.
In other words, I'd rather a tribe of gorillas to live than a tribe of humans.

 

[Gaborn]

It really depends on what comes to people's mind when you think animals.

I don't think Hyenas...I think cute little puppies and dogs....or dolphins...or birds...or Christian the Lion.

But that's the thing. sure an animal can do great things, and an animal can be kind, and generous and even helpful to humans. But so can other humans. Ascribing only positive emotions to an animal is as useful as ascribing only negative emotions to an animal. Or as useful as those who would see animals as soulless unthinking automatons acting purely on instinct. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

 

[Konka]

Humans are animals though...

 

[Mr.Green]

Traditionally, when a human is called an animal... What comes to mind?

This:

Humans > Animals.

Also, they should ban pitbulls and make it an open season on them. I'll be the first to kill all of them in my neighborhood.

 

[thetechkid]

I would rather that a group of individuals from a endangered species survived over whatever native human population in the same area threatening them.
In other words, I'd rather a tribe of gorillas to live than a tribe of humans.

This gave me the best idea ever, Pacquiao vs a gorilla.

 

[Srsly]

-Animals don't rape the environment like we do
-Animals don't waste precious resources like we do
-Animals are at the mercy of us.
-Animals that may possibly face extinction in the not so distant future (honeybees, for example) are vital for our existence, but we could easily do with a few billion less people.
-Why should an awful, selfish person who only drags our species and planet down ever be valued over an animal acting almost purely on instinct?

 

[DonMigs85]

When humans end up killing each other in wars, riots, etc or with man-made weapons people tend to have less sympathy especially if they didn't have friends or relatives involved.
Many innocent animals are killed, sometimes brutally, which is why people feel sadder for them.

 

[dinazimmerman]

Again, you seem to be conflating "amoral" with "immoral". Something which is "amoral" exists outside the framework of morality, so by describing something as the "best or worst moral activity" that action is inherently moral or immoral. (The point of your question might have been to raise cultural relativism as a viable ethical position, but that would have been completely beside the point at hand.)

sorry, for some reason, i thought you were claiming that such a person was amoral, not immoral. you're arguing the reverse case, which makes sense because humans (even those with seemingly counterintuitive moral beliefs) are moral creatures and amoral humansare the exception not the rule

on the other hand, i don't think all animals are "amoral." i can't cite any species that engage in moral behavior off the top of my head, but i'm almost positive that you will find cases of some animals engaging in some form of "moral" behavior.

Define "unhealthy". But I imagine that people without a concept of morality probably have a different cognitive process to most others.

Well, certain brain injuries would count as "unhealthy:"

...there have been cases in which brain damage has appeared to rob individuals of their moral sensibilities in a strikingly selective way. By far, the most celebrated of such cases is that of Phineas Gage (Damasio, 1994), a Nineteenth Century railroad foreman who worked in Vermont. One fateful day, an accidental explosion sent a tamping iron through Gage's cheek and out the top of his head, destroying much of his medial prefrontal cortex. Gage not only survived the accident; at the time he appeared to have emerged with all of his mental capacities intact. After a two-month recuperation period Gage was pronounced cured, but it was soon apparent that Gage was damaged. Before the accident he was admired by his colleagues for his industriousness and good character. After the accident, he became lawless. He wandered around, making trouble wherever he went, unable to hold down a steady job due to his anti-social behavior. For a long time no one understood why Gage’s lesion had the profound but remarkably selective effect that it had.

http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~jgreene/GreeneWJH/Greene-InnatenessChapter.pdf

 

[AColdDay]

Animals get fucked over all the time by humans and they don't even have the mental capacity to do anything about it. Some people see this and allow the guilt of their species to make them overcompensate their love of animals. People shouldn't value the life of an animal over the life of a person, but on the other hand, some people shouldn't disregard the sanctity of an animal's right to live.

In a wierd way the polar opposites sort of balance things out. I doubt you would see so many dipshits who would jump off a bridge to save a cat if there weren't other dipshits who murder dogs for fun.

 

[danwarb]

Iv'e always been puzzled by this. I can understand being desensitized to human violence(though i dont share that) but to outright believe an animal has more worth than a human is completely preposterous and contradictory to the self. Can someone help me understand.

I think often it's a reaction to the lack of empathy shown for other animals by some people, and there being little or no consequence to animal abuse in law.

I know I care less for people who would happily torture animals, but they're likely sociopaths and care less still about me.

 

[BattleMonkey]

 

[Srsly]

Many humans carry less value than animals, but the greatest humans carry more value than any animal.

 

[gerg]

on the other hand, i don't think all animals are "amoral." i can't cite any species that engage in moral behavior off the top of my head, but i'm almost positive that you will find cases of some animals engaging in some form of "moral" behavior.

I'm sure lots of species engage in behaviour that we would find immoral if a human performed it on another human (or, possibly, on another animal). If you start saying that behaviour is immoral, though, (and that that creature is immoral when they perform it) you end up creating difficulties.

Well, certain brain injuries would count as "unhealthy:"

Well, the point was more that bringing up the concept of being unhealthy wasn't very useful or relevant. : )

 

[selig]

There are several reasons for holding higher value to an animal´s life than humans:

- The whole world kills and tortures animals, thinks it´s okay. In that sense, animals are a minority. And Im always intrigued to help suffering minorities.

- Animals aren´t assholes.

- Men are more powerful than animal, so there should be a lot of responsibility on our side.

- Human beings prove to be kill-worthy again and again. Animals do what nature told them. Humans decide to be fuckers.

- There are 6 billion people living on this planet, meanwhile, almost all bigger animals are close to vanishing from this planet.

That´s it for now.

okay, so if a man was raised and believed that killing, rape and so on was morally right. is he innocent?

No, in your example, that man would actually be a good person, not innocent or bad, but good. Now, if a man (or woman, dont know why you picked man) was NOT raised to be anything and killed or raped someone, thinking it wouldnt cause any harm, THEN he´d be innocent.

They are people that fail as human beings so their only option is to see animals and interprent their lack of conciousness the way they want it. Hence all the "My cat is so confident and isnt a needy bitch like some dogs" comments we see here from time to time.

Yeah, it surely is those people´s fault, right? Not...society´s or so, eh? Thanks, you´re a perfect example of why I think better of animals than human beings (who are animals, too, to be precise)

 

[wenis]

They've most likely never seen a human being die.

 

[Shanadeus]

In a wierd way the polar opposites sort of balance things out. I doubt you would see so many dipshits who would jump off a bridge to save a cat if there weren't other dipshits who murder dogs for fun.

That's just because the mews from a cat or a kitten can be heartbreaking, if a ugly animal was drowning then people wouldn't really care.

 

[Blair]

I value human life yet I'm fine with people spending money on pets. I know that money would be better spent on some charity, but I can't reconcile that with how great dogs are.

Humans spend money on stuff they don't really need instead of giving to charity? Is that your point?

edit : i misread, i thought you were being sarcastic. Agree with you on the cat thing, ungrateful bastards!

 

[esquire]

Animals are free of original sin.


Actually all life is equally valuable. How can humans ascribe rights to themselves that do not include animals? It's not logical.

 

[Johnlenham]

There are several reasons for holding higher value to an animal´s life than humans:

- The whole world kills and tortures animals, thinks it´s okay. In that sense, animals are a minority. And Im always intrigued to help suffering minorities.

- Animals aren´t assholes.

- Men are more powerful than animal, so there should be a lot of responsibility on our side.

- Human beings prove to be kill-worthy again and again. Animals do what nature told them. Humans decide to be fuckers.

- There are 6 billion people living on this planet, meanwhile, almost all bigger animals are close to vanishing from this planet.

That´s it for now.

Yeah what this dude says. I just see it as pretty much every animal is screwed when it comes to defending against humans, some because of how they are raised are worse off like Dogs and cats because they"trust" humans

Its all relative anyway
Pregnant woman gets murdered for no reason > Dog gets its head crushed by drugged up owner

Cat getting thrown from a 12 storey building for lols > Some solider that got killed doing his job/what he signed up for.

 

[Mako_Drug]

Good for you, psycho. I would kill your dog and every dog in the country to save the life of one street junkie.

Penn & Teller?

 

[travisbickle]

A. The human race overpopulated, the same can not be said about most animals.

B. A lot of people are nothing but burdens on other people. Prisoners, welfare, etc.

what's the etc? children? mentally handicapped? elderly? war amputees? starving Africans?

Animals are a burden, I can't even chop down a forest without a troop of monkeys getting in the way!

 

[fuzzyreactor]

Cat getting thrown from a 12 storey building for lols > Some solider that got killed doing his job/what he signed up for.

yea, i disagree

 

[JumpJeff84]

Penn & Teller?

Not sure I follow...

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Good for you, psycho. I would kill your dog and every dog in the country to save the life of one street junkie.

I'd kill all the street junkies and dogs in the country to save a cat.

 

[Johnlenham]

yea, i disagree

Well im sure many do im just saying that is how I look at it as the cat is defenseless, the solider probably wasn't and is invading some dudes country.
Id feel no less pitty if a dude walked into a bears cave and got mauled to death.

 

[bigmit3737]

The strong should protect the weak.

 

[travisbickle]

When humans end up killing each other in wars, riots, etc or with man-made weapons people tend to have less sympathy especially if they didn't have friends or relatives involved.
Many innocent animals are killed, sometimes brutally, which is why people feel sadder for them.

Is this how some people console themselves about war in Iraq? I hate to break it to you but innocent people including children are getting killed, sometimes brutally and sometimes by Americans, in wars around the world.

 

[skyfinch]

Because some people were raise by a pack of wolves, and spend the majority of their younger years suckling the dominate female wolf's succulent, highly nutritious tit.

 

[JumpJeff84]

Keep in mind that if animals were bigger they'd be all over us in a murderous rampage.

Ever seen a cat kill a mouse? They don't just kill it, they like to wound it, then bat it around, slowly torturing it before finally ripping its head off. Now imagine if humans were mouse-sized...

 

[speculawyer]

You need to provide an example.

 

[danwarb]

Animals get fucked over all the time by humans and they don't even have the mental capacity to do anything about it. Some people see this and allow the guilt of their species to make them overcompensate their love of animals. People shouldn't value the life of an animal over the life of a person, but on the other hand, some people shouldn't disregard the sanctity of an animal's right to live.

In a wierd way the polar opposites sort of balance things out. I doubt you would see so many dipshits who would jump off a bridge to save a cat if there weren't other dipshits who murder dogs for fun.

It's not so much that. Animals have suffered horribly for hundreds of millions of years; we wouldn't exist without the process of death and natural selection. What infuriates, is the disregard for another animals suffering at the hands of people who could/should (and can afford to) know better.

We can use our reason and empathy to recognize that a lot of animals have very similar brains to us, and suffer physically and sometimes emotionally as we do.
They're no better off that they don't have our capacity for language and mathematics when they're dying horribly, at the hands of people who can understand their suffering, but don't care.

 

[Mako_Drug]

Not sure I follow...

TV Show called 'Bullshit'. Each episode debunks topics like conspiracy theories, the bible and PETA.

At about 8:45 Penn says something very similar to what you did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsUSDMclWQg&feature=related

 

[I <3 Memes]

Not wearing fur and being a vegetarian isnt "valuing animal life over human life". Those are just people choosing alternatives to harming animals because the option is there for them. No humans are dieing or suffering if you don't wear fur or eat meat. And no human would choose not to use an animal for fur or not eat meat if it meant a human would die if they didn't.

So again, outside of the hyperbole I've seen in this thread, show me an example of a human valuing the life of an animal over a human.

 

[Dark Octave]

Because we keep them down by eating their asses. Fucking monkeys would be deploying ICBM's by now if we didn't lock em up and poach them in other countries.

Fuck your evolution cows, you're Hamburger Helper!

:lol :lol

:lol I just caught the name as well!

because to me my dog is human and is a great friend and family member.

:lol :lol

 

[Ponn]

The question posed needs more elaboration. Is an animals life straight up worth more than a normal humans? No.

Is an animals life worth more than some scumbag who drags animals behind pickup trucks for fun or little psychopathic to be kids who bag animals then cover them in gas and burn them? Hell yes. I'm 100 percent comfortable in my assumption that the animal will contribute more positives to a community or life in general then those aholes.

 

[JumpJeff84]

Not wearing fur and being a vegetarian isnt "valuing animal life over human life". Those are just people choosing alternatives to harming animals because the option is there for them. No humans are dieing or suffering if you don't wear fur or eat meat. And no human would choose not to use an animal for fur or not eat meat if it meant a human would die if they didn't.

So again, outside of the hyperbole I've seen in this thread, show me an example of a human valuing the life of an animal over a human.

PETA opposing animal testing for disease treatments. Ingrid has gone on record as saying that they don't care how many human lives it might save. Seems like a pretty good example to me.

 

[Shanadeus]

TV Show called 'Bullshit'. Each episode debunks topics like conspiracy theories, the bible and PETA.

At about 8:45 Penn says something very similar to what you did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsUSDMclWQg&feature=related

Penn said an incredibly stupid thing.

 

[manofmandango]

Oh yeah?!?

:lol the fuck

 

[norinrad]

I do not have a pet, but i will say this, a dog or a cat is always happier to see you come inside the house.

 

[J-Rod]

It troubles me that some people value animal life over human life. There are plenty of innocent children suffering in the world and that weighs less on some people's hearts as a barn cat that would just as soon eat your firstborn and never care if it was just a little bigger. I've loved pets more than people, as much as my closest and most beloved family members, but I have always thought that if I had to chose between its life and a stranger's, I'd chose to keep the stranger's, because that is the right thing to do. The best way to make the lives of animals better in regard to how people treat them is to love people despite their negatives which teaches those people to do the same.

 

[JumpJeff84]

TV Show called 'Bullshit'. Each episode debunks topics like conspiracy theories, the bible and PETA.

At about 8:45 Penn says something very similar to what you did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsUSDMclWQg&feature=related

Wow...that is a lot like what I said. I'm a big fan of Penn, used to listen to his podcast. Seen a fair bit of 'Bullshit' too. Don't think I've seen that quote before. Or maybe I did and forgot. So either Penn and I think alike or I'm subconsciously stealing his schtick.